Archive for category: news

Today saw the sitzprobe for Kommilitonen!; adding the orchestra is always an exciting stage in preparing an opera, but that is particularly the case for a new piece where no-one has ever heard the orchestration before! Max's colourful writing is so vibrant and luscious and energised and it was great to have him there again today, alongside various people from the Juilliard, who jointly commissioned the piece with RAM, and will be performing it in November. An intensive schedule of stage & orchestra sessions and then dress rehearsals fills the next week until curtain up on 18th!

What an absolute joy to be back at Uppingham! I had a wonderful two years there as a sixth-former and hold extremely fond memories of the place, so it was a delight to be asked to give a recital with Marcus Farnsworth as part of the Uppingham Concerts series. The Paul David Music School has been built since I left and includes a recital hall which is where we performed a Schubert set, Mahler's glorious Rückert-Lieder, Moeran's Norfolk folksongs arrangements (Moeran himself having been both pupil and teacher at Uppingham!) and then Finzi's Earth and Air and Rain. Great to see so many students in the audience, and lovely to meet up with various people during the day.

This week saw concerts in Brighton with flautist Marielle Way – a shared concert at the Church of the Good Shepherd, organised by the Rotary Club in aid of the 'Thanks for Life' campaign which combats polio – and at the Amersham Festival Dinner with violinists Alexandra and Charlotte Reid. Meanwhile, it's been great to put down lots of tracks in two recent recording sessions with singers Carris Jones and Oliver Hunt at The Forge in Camden, one of London's newest small concert halls.

Music at St Peter's has again proved to be a great success this weekend. Another sizeable audience warmed the atmosphere in the freezing cold church (the heating was broken…) and were hugely appreciative of performances by Laura Kelly (mezzo-soprano) and Matthew Lowe (cello), ranging from Beethoven's C major sonata to Scottish folksongs. Particular thanks to Matthew for stepping in at short notice! Each of these concerts raises money for a different local cause, and this time a substantial cheque was sent to the church's own Church Centre Appeal. The next in this series is on June 25th – performers to be announced in due course!

Great morning in the studio with James Turnbull (oboe), recording Thomas Hewitt Jones' new Sonata Cimarella. Tommy himself was producing, so the composer's input was never far from hand! This will be part of the next CD of Tommy's music, due for release in April. His previous disc, Under the Milkwood Tree, has met with great success, and details of his other work (including composing for the Olympics trailers!) can be found on his own website.